Kathy Lavinder Doran, widow of Dr. Michael Doran, with their son Sam Doran, left, stand with Jon Glaser in front of the sign designating the bridge on Wootton Parkway below Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville as a memorial to Doran who served as principal at the school until his death in 2015. Glaser, who graduated from Wootton in 2015, was instrumental in getting the bridge named for Doran. Photo by Peggy McEwan/The Almanac
The symbolism of naming a bridge for Wootton High School’s former principal Dr. Michael J. Doran was not lost on anyone who knew him.
“The bridge symbolizes all he did to unite the community,” said current Thomas S. Wootton High School principal Kimberly Boldon.
The bridge, just below the school on Wootton Parkway, near the intersection of Greenplace Terrace, was being renovated by the City of Rockville when former student Jon Glaser, class of 2015, got the idea of naming it for Doran.
“Dr. Doran created an environment of excellence … cheering each one of us on individually,” Glaser said.
Doran died suddenly in August 2015 at the age of 64.
“This helps us fill the gulf of emotions and helps us move forward,” Glaser said.
The dedication of the bridge, timed for the completion of repairs, was held June 1 at 3:30 p.m. The Wootton Drum Line performed and the school’s Patriot Ambassadors, PTSA and Booster Club helped decorated the bridge with crepe paper streamers and helium balloons.
The mood was both somber — many parents and teachers who worked with Doran were there to honor a much-loved educator — and celebratory with the excitement of knowing he would be remembered by students using the bridge going to and from school.
Two Rockville City Council members, Virginia D. Onley and Julie Palakovich, who helped push the resolution to name the bridge through the legislative process, also spoke.
Onley said she did not know Doran but came to know him through letters and email she received during the nomination process.
“I did not know Michael J. Doran and, as I read about him, I became disappointed that our paths never crossed,” she said. “He was described as a charming guy with a British accent that everybody adored, and he adored the community.”
Onley also said she read that Doran ended the school’s graduation ceremony with an Irish Blessing [he was born in Ireland] so she ended her remarks with one too: “May the hand of a friend always be near you. And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.”
Samuel Doran, son of Michael Doran and Kathy Lavinder Doran, spoke on behalf of the family, thanking the community for naming the bridge for his father and drawing on his father’s life philosophy to forwand the bridge analogy.
“My father always thought one of the finest aspects of public education is the ability to bring a community together,” he said. “One of [the] central passions that drove my father is that education is a bridge to a better life.”
Samuel Doran and his mother unveiled the signs, one on either end of the bridge reading: Michael J. Doran Memorial Bridge.